Beauty products, furnishing fabrics, toys… phthalates are chemical substances that are found everywhere. American researchers wanted to know the impact of exposure to phthalates on the time needed to get pregnant and maintain a healthy pregnancy. And their results are rather worrying…
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Phthalates are a group of chemicals commonly used as plasticizers in polyvinyl chloride products (toys, plastic upholstery vinylvinylshower curtains, etc.) and as stabilizers in many personal care products (soap, body lotion, perfume, varnishvarnish nail polish, shampoo, freezefreeze capillary and hairspray). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure occurs mainly through the ingestion of food and liquidsliquids having been in contact with these chemicals. “ Phthalates are ubiquitous endocrine disruptors that we are exposed to every day said Carrie Nobles, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and co-author of new research.
A study of nearly 1,300 women who want to get pregnant
Previously, studies have shown that exposure to certain types of phthalates disrupts the endocrine systemendocrine system and increased theinflammationinflammation and the oxidative stressoxidative stress. The new study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives examined the association between prereproductive phthalate exposure and a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant and maintaining pregnancy. pregnancypregnancyas well as the effect on hormoneshormones reproductive, inflammation and oxidative stress.
Researchers analyzed data from 1,288 women — aged 28 on average — who participated in the study. Effects of Aspirin in GestationGestation and Reproduction » on the effect ofaspirinaspirin at low doses on live birth rates. The research includes detailed information on participants for six menstrual cyclesmenstrual cycles during which they try to become pregnant. The women, whose happy event was confirmed, were followed throughout their pregnancy.
Three phthalates in the crosshairs
As our body breaks down phthalates into metabolitesmetabolites which are excreted in urine, the researchers analyzed urine samples from the participants. Out of a total of 20 phthalate metabolites, three stood out. “ We found that three compounds appeared to be most strongly associated with taking longer to get pregnant, although we saw a general trend in this direction for all the phthalates we studied, Nobles explained. The higher the exposure, the more the effect is felt. »
Additionally, researchers found that women with greater exposure to phthalates had higher levels of inflammation and oxidative stress, which can damage cells and lead to disease. In contrast, no clear association has been established between phthalate metabolites and risk of miscarriage.
It therefore seems necessary to limit exposure to phthalates before reproduction and during pregnancy. However, while women can control the presence of these chemicals on consumer product labels, their omnipresence complicates matters. According to the authors, these findings add to evidence that phthalate exposure negatively impacts women’s reproductive health and can be used to inform policy decisions.
